MacTech Blog

Aug 22

Sub-$200 smartphone shipments to exceed 750 million in...

Low cost smartphones, defined as smartphones with a wholesale ASP below $200, are increasingly appearing in OEM [original equipment manufacturer] and operator portfolios in both emerging and developed markets, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

The low hanging fruit for low cost smartphones is to drive smartphone adoption in emerging markets where handset subsidization and disposable income are scarce, according to the research group. ABI Research forecasts low cost smartphone shipments to grow from 238 million in 2013 to 758 million by 2018, driven by the low penetration of smartphones and large subscriber bases found in BRIC countries.

"Despite the low cost moniker, research has shown that the feature gap between low- and high-end smartphones is decreasing, making low cost smartphones a 'good enough' solution for price sensitive consumers in all markets," says senior analyst Michael...

New findings from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) shows a high growth surge expected in the emerging smart wireless accessory sector.

The new report found that shipments of app-enabled smart wireless accessories will approach 170 million by the end of 2018, compared to over 18 million this year. At that time the market will be dominated by consumer electronics and fitness accessories, although in the longer run healthcare smart wireless accessories are expected to gain most traction, according to the research group.

"The actual take up of CE smart wireless accessories will depend on whether companies succeed in creating accessories that will capture the imagination of the consumer," says report author Nitin Bhas. "Nevertheless, the multiplicity of potential use cases means that the consumer electronics category represents one of the most important areas in which smart wireless...

Airlines are missing a major opportunity to drive more ancillary revenue from business travelers, according to a recent survey of 902 business travelers by FlightView, the day-of-travel information company.

According to FlightView's survey, more than half of all business travelers would consider purchasing in-flight amenities and services if offers were pushed to their mobile devices before they boarded the plane. Specifically, business travelers would consider mobile, day-of-travel purchases of:

In-flight WiFi 65.3%

Seat with extra legroom 55.4%

Business- or first-class ticket upgrade 50.2%

Early boarding privileges 43.0%

However, in the last 12 months, only 45 percent of business travelers have actually purchased a seat upgrade or add-on (such as in-flight WiFi) using an airline's mobile website or app.

"There is major opportunity to increase revenue and improve the travel experience by pushing relevant services via mobile," says...

ABI Research’s Device Portal sales channel analysis reveals tough times are ahead for smartphone vendors, as the balance of power remains with Samsung/Android and Apple.

The smartphone market is entering a new, more mature stage in its growth, where execution rules over innovation and Samsung is dominating the sales channel with more than double the number devices on offer than any other vendor across the 13 markets and multiple online retailers studied, according to the research group (www.abiresearch.com).

"ABI Research’s Device Portal analysis showed that Samsung is dominating the sales channel at nearly every price point, with only Apple challenging Samsung at the high end of the market," Nick Spencer, senior practice director, ABI Research, says. "This leaves little room for the other vendors to compete, especially the other Android vendors and those using uncompetitive operating system...

Global macroeconomic developments and technological advances, personal computers, and memory markets are expected to drive demand over the forecast period, according to Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com).

The global semiconductor industry is a fragmented market, notes the research group. The Asia Pacific (APAC) region dominates this market and represents approximately three-fourths of the global market. Some of the major players include Intel Corporation, Samsung Electronics, Taiwan Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba Corporation. The combination of factors such as continuing transfer of worldwide electronic equipment production to China and the above-average semiconductor content of that equipment influences market dynamics tremendously.

As indicated in the Research and Markets study, there is increasing demand for semiconductors from the BRIC (Brazil,...

Protecting children and teenagers in cyber space is a growing concern for parents, educators, and public administrators. The number of digital platforms from which they can access the Internet is constantly increasing: smartphones, tablets, and gaming consoles are the newest popular connected platforms adding to the existing PC and laptop vectors, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

Cyber bullying and grooming, violent and inappropriate content, exposure of personal data, and privacy violations are all too common threats. Low parental knowledge and lack of adequate cyber education for children is prompting a surge in demand for filtering, blocking, and control technologies, according to the research group.

The child online protection and parental control market is a lucrative one, says ABI Research. The drivers for growth are inherently affected by many different cultural, educational,...

Yota launched the first LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network in Russia last October; however, with the first compatible handset, SK Telecom was the earliest to make the technology commercially available in June 2013.

Within two weeks, the South Korean operator has already claimed over 150,000 subscriptions, roughly 0.6% of its total. The United States will have at least four LTE-A networks in service by the end of this year as well. This fierce competition will see more than half of the LTE subscribers in North America using LTE-A by 2017, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

Underpinning this rapid adoption is the upgrade of base stations to support LTE-A worldwide, which is increasing at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of ~200% between 2012 and 2018 to reach more than half-a-million strong.

Simply Measured says 98% of top brands now have a Facebook fan page, with 60% posting at least one time per day. However, the frequency of posts is much less effective in engaging fans than a brand’s content strategy.

Visual content is by far the primary driver for engagement on Facebook, with photos accounting for 95% of total engagement. Overall, photos posted by top brands average more than 9,400 engagements per post, while video posts average more than 2,500 engagements.

Over the past few months, Facebook has made significant changes to benefit brands and users, including redesigning its News Feed to improve how visual content is displayed, and introducing clickable hashtags that allow brands to provide additional context with their posts. While 20% of posts now include hashtags, Simply Measured saw no measurable change in how hashtags influence engagement. These posts perform as well as posts without hashtags, suggesting that people are not yet discovering brand...

Semiconductor revenue worldwide will see improved growth this year of 6.9% and reaching US$320 billion according to the mid-year 2013 update of the "Semiconductor Applications Forecaster" (SAF) from International Data Corporation (IDC).

The SAF also forecasts that semiconductor revenues will grow 2.9% year over year in 2014 to $329 billion and log a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% from 2012-2017, reaching $366 billion in 2017, according to the research group (www.idc.com).

Continued global macroeconomic uncertainty from a slowdown in China, eurozone debt crisis and recession, Japan recession, and the U.S. sequester's impact on corporate IT spending are factors that could affect global semiconductor demand this year. Mobile phones and tablets will drive a significant portion of the growth in the semiconductor market this year.

The industry continued to see weakness in PC demand, but strong memory...

Annual shipments of 802.15.4-enabled devices are forecast to grow more than 5X from 2012 to 2018, with a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of over 30%, reports ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). ZigBee continues to be the primary driver toward standardization and interoperability and will see further strong growth across many markets, accounting for almost 80% of total 802.15.4-enabled device shipments in 2018, according to the research group.

"It’s been quite a turbulent time for ZigBee over the last couple of years," says Peter Cooney, practice director. "Markets that seemed to be sure-fire bets for rapid growth, such as smart meters have not delivered what was expected, while smart home markets continue to flourish."

There are a number of markets that the ZigBee Alliance and its members have targeted, and many standards have been developed to address them. To date, most of the focus and success...

The adoption of mobile devices for personal use is well documented but less is known about their use at work. An "IDG Global Solutions" (IGS) survey found a growing overlap between home and work use among participants in 43 countries.

Forty-one percent use their private smartphone for business while almost as many use a tablet (37%). Private/business tablet use ran as high as 59% in Asia Pacific and Latin America to 36% in North America and 29% in Western Europe. As for smartphones supported by an organization’s IT department, Asia Pacific and Latin America led the way followed by Eastern Europe and North America.
The 25,601 respondents to an online survey fielded from March to May 2013 said they rely heavily on both devices to read email (93%-94%) and download or use mobile apps (67%-71%). They are also actively seeking industry news and conducting research about technology issues and products. The questionnaire was posted to 120 IDG tech media sites worldwide that...

According to the "Quarterly Multi-Screen Usage Study" from NPD DisplaySearch (www.displaysearch.com), 88% of tablet PC owners and 82% of smartphone owners in 15 countries surveyed use their devices at least some of the time while they watch TV. Email, Web browsing, texting, Facebook, and weather were among the top applications accessed while watching TV.

"The rise in connected mobile devices has changed the way consumers view TV and online content," says Riddhi Patel, research director at NPD DisplaySearch. "For many people around the world, multi-tasking with apps on smartphones and tablets while watching TV has forever changed the traditional TV-focused viewing experience."

Eighty-five of tablet owners and 65% of smartphone owners view online content on their mobile devices instead of on their TVs at least some of the time. Of the people who used mobile devices to view online content, most said...

According to Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) the global facial recognition market will grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 24.5% through 2016.

One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing high security requirement in government departments. The global facial recognition market has also been witnessing an increased number of mergers and acquisitions, says Research and Markets. However, facial recognition systems are not always accurate and this could pose a challenge to the growth of this market, according to the research group.

Commenting on the report, an analyst from the team said: "The Global Facial Recognition market is witnessing an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions, and this trend is expected to continue during the forecast period. The existing vendors and new entrants are taking the acquisitive route to...

ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) forecasts that cumulative online ID and authentication shipments into the banking market vertical will total 1.6 billion in 2018; an increase of 945% when compared to 2012.

Cumulative shipments include secure USB tokens, standalone OTP generators, portable smart card readers, and mobile device software applications. Of the 2018 shipment total ABI Research forecasts that mobile software applications will account for 81% of the total 2018, which only accounted for a mere 22% in 2012.

Mobile device security has become a focal area for improvement since the proliferation of smart phones and tablets. 24/7 access to applications is the new must-have service, which is no different in the online banking world, according to the research group. Improving access and mobility is central to current banking service strategies, but security must be of a level to deter/defeat the...

The worldwide IT outsourcing (ITO) market is forecast to reach US$288 billion in 2013, a 2.8% increase in U.S. dollars (and 5.1% in constant currency) from 2012, according to Gartner, Inc. Compared with Gartner's previous forecast, nearly all ITO segments are now forecast to grow more slowly during 2013, says the research group.

"We continue to see overall market growth being constrained by near-term market factors, such as evolving ITO delivery models, economic, political and labor conditions, and service provider financial performance," says Bryan Britz, research vice president at Gartner. "Mature Asia/Pacific and Western Europe are the regions where the outlook is most tempered, partly due to currency but also reflective of our view that 2013 is likely to be similar to 2012 in these regions."

Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) says their research shows that the global smartphone market will grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 10% through 2016.

Commenting on the report, an analyst from the team said: "Global smartphone vendors such as Samsung and Apple make huge investments in their R&D divisions. One of the main reasons for this huge investment is the stiff competition among the smartphone vendors in the market. The increasing R&D investment enables the vendors to launch new, sophisticated, and appealing smartphones with advanced technology, giving vendors a competitive edge over other players. Therefore, increased R&D spending is an emerging trend that many global smartphone vendors are following to stay on top in the market."

According to the report, one of the major drivers is the continual decline in smartphone prices. Since the...

In a new study of social behavior across devices, ShareThis (www.sharethis.com) has revealed important insights into what people are sharing, on which devices, and the social networks they are sharing to the most.
The cross-device research compared 4.9 billion social patterns across desktop web and 1.2 billion social patterns across mobile web. Key findings include:

° The mobile web is twice as social as desktop: consumers are nearly twice as likely to click and share content on social networks through mobile devices as opposed to desktops.

° The iPhone is the most social device: users are three times more likely to share content via their iPhone versus the desktop and one and a half times more likely to share on an iPhone versus all other mobile devices.

° Sharing activity on mobile is dominated by Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest: Facebook accounts for 60 % of sharing on mobile and...

According to MarketsandMarkets (www.marketsandmarkets.com) the total hardware encryption market is expected to reach roughly US$166.67 billion by 2018, growing at an explosive CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 62.17% for the period of 2013 to 2018.

Encryption of data is a process of converting it into a form, where it becomes unintelligible to any person without access to a key/password to decrypt the data. The two forms of encryption that exist currently are the hardware-based encryption and software based encryption.

The major difference between hardware encryption and software encryption is that in hardware encryption, the encryption and decryption processes are done by a dedicated processor on the hardware encrypted device. In software encryption, the resources of the device on which the software is installed, are used for the encrypting and decrypting the data. This makes...

According to new data from Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com), the total value of the global mobile marketing and advertising market will grow from 3.8 billion in 2011 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31% to 19.7 billion in 2017.

This will then correspond to 15.5% of the total online advertising market or 4.4 percent of the total global ad spend for all media, notes the research group. As the digital convergence blurs the differences between devices, the definition used for mobile advertising is that it comprises the digital ads exposed on a mobile handset screen.

Consumers are currently devoting a quarter of their media consumption time on mobile devices, yet the channel only attracts slightly more than 1% of the ad dollars, says Rickard Andersson, telecom analyst, Research and Markets.

ABI Research (www.abirsearch.com) has found that the overall 2012 wireless network equipment market was quite challenging for infrastructure vendors, but the incessant demand for 3G and 4G mobile broadband will continue to drive demand for mobile packet core equipment. The Mobile Packet Data Core Network infrastructure market will reach $1.8B in 2013.

"Continued growth in 3G and 4G traffic will propel the Mobile Packet Core Infrastructure to a cumulative $10B market over the next five years," says Joe Hoffman, principal analyst at ABI Research.

The overall mobile core network equipment market declined 12% in Q1 2013 from the rather moribund Q4 2012. Reflecting increased data demand, the packet data core market continues to expand and is up 22% over Q4 2012, and up 30% over the trailing 12 months. In North America the hugely popular success of LTE is rapidly supplanting 2G and 3G traffic and...

The computer graphics (CG) industry has been a growth industry since it was established in the late 1970s. It has weathered the storms of the recession over the last five years and is now showing signs of renewed vigor and potential, partly due to a big boost from mobile, according to new data from the Jon Peddie research group (www.jonpeddie.com).

The computer graphics hardware market was worth US$93 billion in 2010 and is expected to exceed $107 billion in 2013, with software growing slight faster than hardware, says Jon Peddie. In 2012 the CG software market was worth $14 billion (not counting services, maintenance and other aspects) and is expected to grow to $17 billion by 2013 as the industry shakes off the remaining effects of the recession and starts upgrading software tools.

The sharp curtailment of household and corporate spending during the recession has resulted in a renewed desire among...

The digitization of critical infrastructures has provided substantial benefits in terms of socio-economic developments -- improved productivity, better connectivity, greater efficiencies. Yet some of these attributes also carry significant risks.

Always-on Internet connectivity has ushered in a new cyber-age where the stakes are higher. Disruption and destruction through malicious online activities are the new reality: cyber-espionage, cyber-crime, and cyber-terrorism. Despite the seemingly virtual nature of these threats, the physical consequences can be quite tangible.

The cyber protection of critical infrastructure has become the most immediate primary concern for nation states. The public revelation of wide-spread state-sponsored cyber-espionage presages an era of information and cyber warfare on a global scale between countries, political groups, hacktivists, organized crime syndicates, and civilian society -- in short, to anyone with access to an Internet-...

ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) has been actively tracking the LTE market, assessing operator commitments both current and future. Out of 470 LTE commitments tracked, 193 have gone commercial. Over the next two years, the research group anticipates another 123 network commitments to go commercial. Additionally, ABI Research is currently tracking 69 LTE-TDD commitments.

"By 2018, LTE deployments should deliver population coverage of 57% (4.2 billion) and 31% (2.3 billion) in legacy WCDMA and CDMA2000 markets respectively. Significantly, LTE-TDD coverage should achieve 49% population coverage by the end of the five year period," says Jake Saunders, vice president of forecasting at ABI Research.

These coverage targets will be driven by macrocells and small cells. By 2018, the number of LTE macrocell base stations will reach 2.43 million to achieve the population coverage targets. Small cells are an...

Over 31% of mobile developers today are supporting Near Field Communications (NFC) in their mobile apps, but an additional 45% plan to support this technology in the next 12 months, according to Evans Data Corp's newly released "Mobile Development Survey."

The survey, conducted in May 2013 with over 500 developers actively working on mobile apps, found that more developers have plans to support NFC in the near future than any of several other device features, including voice recognition, range finder, and device pairing. The primary driver for NFC support is security and access (keycards and dongles, identity, entry and access, boarding passes and transponders). Other popular drivers for NFC support are social networking, Bluetooth and wi-fi connectivity, and commerce.

"NFC is the next evolutionary step in mobile computing," said Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data Corp. (http://www.evansdata.com). "...

Worldwide IT spending is projected to total US$3.7 trillion in 2013, a 2% increase from 2012 spending of $3.6 trillion, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). Last quarter, the research group's forecast for 2013 IT spending growth in U.S. dollars was 4.1%.

The 2.1 percentage point reduction mainly reflects the impact of recent fluctuations in U.S. dollar exchange rates; growth in constant currency is forecast at 3.5 percent for 2013, down only slightly from last quarter. For more than a decade, global IT and business executives have been using these highly anticipated quarterly reports to recognize market opportunities and challenges, and base their critical business decisions on proven methodologies rather than guesswork.

"Exchange rate movements, and a reduction in our 2013 forecast for devices, account for the bulk of the downward revision of the 2013 growth," says Richard...

ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) predicts the number of large enterprises to adopt enterprise app stores will grow at double-digit rates through 2018.

Globally, large enterprise app store adoption will grow at 30.4% YoY [year-over-year] with the manufacturing and trade industries commanding the largest share of app deployments. North American and Western European enterprise app store adoption will grow healthily at 20.7% and 21.5%, respectively, but Asia-Pacific will have the most enterprises with enterprise app stores by 2018 growing at 59% YoY.

"Mobile application management is growing in popularity among enterprises looking to deploy flexible mobile solutions to support Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) initiatives," says ABI Research senior analyst, Jason McNicol. "The problem is finding a scalable solution to deploy enterprise apps without placing additional burdens on IT departments. Enterprise...

Nearly one-third of US Telco TV households are expected to access multiscreen or TV Everywhere services by the end of 2013 -- the vast majority of which already use advanced interactive features like remote programming a DVR.

Cable is close behind due to its early lead, but the growth rate for these services is slower because of the greater diversity of cable households and services (not all service providers offer TVE), according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) Satellite operators are further behind, due to slower starts and lack of in-house broadband services, but offer some novel experiences like Dish’s Sling place-shifting technology, says the research group.

"The market is still developing with many of the early growing pains, like authentication, finally starting to take a back seat to the content," comments senior analyst, Michael Inouye. "In many respects the technology is in place to...

Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) says the global computer NAS market will grow at a at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 14.7% through 2016.

One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the rapid growth in digital content globally, according to the research group. The Global Consumer NAS market has also been witnessing the increasing adoption of video surveillance services for households. However, the lack of technical knowledge about NAS appliances among the end-users could pose a challenge to the growth of this market. Key vendors dominating this space include Apple, Buffalo Technology, Iomega and Western Digital.

Commenting on the report, an analyst from Research and Market's Networking team said: One of the major trends being observed in the Global Consumer NAS market is the increasing adoption of video surveillance services by the end-users....

Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) says the enterprise mobility market in the Americas will grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 13.8% through 2016.

One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the need for real-time decision making, according to the research group. The enterprise mobility market in the Americas has also been witnessing an increased adoption of bring your own device policy. However, the growing concern for data security could pose a challenge to the growth of this market. The key vendors dominating this market space include Apple, Google, Microsoft and Research in Motion, says Research and Markets.

Commenting on the report, an analyst from the Telecom team said: "As a result of the growing adoption of enterprise mobility services, organizations are changing their device procurement processes. Earlier, companies had very strict...

According to new data from Parks Associates (www.parkassociates.com), 48% of U.S. smartphone owners currently use apps heavily for daily information and entertainment, while 15% use the phone to order food and 12% use it to shop for physical goods.

"Consumers are still concerned about the security of mobile payments, but these issues are less of a barrier for younger consumers -- over 60% of users 18-24 have made a mobile purchase in the past 30 days," says Jennifer Kent, Parks Associates mobile analyst. "The industry can employ non-payment offerings to show more consumers the benefits of mobile commerce, and as payment security standards improve, consumers' comfort level with mobile payments will rise."

By 2015, 84% of mobile subscribers in North America and 88% in Western Europe will be smartphone users. "Mobile payments in emerging markets pose enormous revenue potential for mobile carriers...

ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) forecasts that the number of automotive apps downloaded in cars will jump from around 12 million at end of 2012 to 4.3 billion at end of 2018 generating revenues of US$1.67 globally.

"Car OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] now increasingly see infotainment as a key differentiator in their cars," says Gareth Owen, principal analyst at ABI Research. "We predict a sharp growth in the adoption of connected car infotainment systems over the next few years, with apps being the main driver, as for the iPhone."

With several proprietary, open standard, and open source systems vying to become the de-facto technology for downloading apps in the car, the battle for domination of the automotive app space is heating up, as car OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, plus behemoths such as Apple and Google maneuver to capture the biggest slice of the automotive app cake. ABI Research also...

The worldwide business analytics software market is expected to grow at a 9.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2017, according to a new forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC). Demand for business analytics solutions will continue to be driven by the promise of better and faster decision-making and competitive advantage that results from the ability to analyze and act upon information in a timely manner, according to the research group.

"There is growing quantifiable evidence that data-driven decision making enabled by business analytics solutions provides a competitive difference," says Dan Vesset, program vice president, Business Analytics at IDC (www.idc.com). "This, along with broad interest in big data, has pushed the technology to the top of many executive agendas and ushered it into the mainstream market."

In 2012, the worldwide business analytics software market grew 8.7% year over year...

A new study from ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) finds that integration with social networks will add significant value to enterprises’ M2M strategies in the coming years.

Initially, this trend will concern companies’ internal social channels, such as Salesforce.com’s Chatter, which is forecasted to be actively used by 60,000 enterprises at end-2013. Going forward, the emphasis will shift towards Facebook and other consumer-facing networks, which ABI Research forecasts to cover 2.9 billion users by end-2018.

"There’s an intriguing intersection developing around social networks and M2M services," says senior analyst Aapo Markkanen. "At this stage the activity is nascent, but over the next five years we expect the relationship between the two to become increasingly synergistic. The innovations it results in will add a strong social ingredient to the decade’s true megatrend: the Internet of...

SOASTA (www.soasta.com), which specializes in cloud and mobile testing,has announced the findings of its "2013 Website and Mobile App Survey." Conducted online by Harris Interactive, the SOASTA survey questioned 2,046 American adults.

The survey found that almost nine out of 10 Americans associate negative feelings with brands that have poorly performing websites and mobile apps (88%), and have a negative reaction when a website is too slow (83%).

"Just as brick-and-mortar businesses invest heavily in their store front to represent their brand image, our research shows that ecommerce retailers need to create a similar high quality online experience in keeping with the brand perception," says Tom Lounibos, SOASTA CEO. "If companies want to remain competitive in the modern landscape, they need their web and mobile websites to engage the user and work as expected. Those that are creating a seamless...

According to a new research report by Berg Insight (www.berginsight.com), global sales of handsets featuring Near Field Communication (NFC) grew 300% in 2012 to reach 140 million units. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.2%, annual shipments are forecasted to reach 1 billion units by 2017.

Wider adoption of NFC in mobile phones began in 2011 and accelerated in 2012 when the top 10 handset vendors released nearly 100 NFC-enabled models. NFC technology enables numerous applications such as information exchange, device pairing for establishing Bluetooth or WLAN connections, access control, electronic ticketing and secure contactless payments.

However, Berg Insight anticipates that it will take some time before the stakeholders agree on business models for payment networks and access to secure elements that store the sensitive user information in NFC-enabled handsets. Once developers...

There is a fierce battle raging between Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), Wi-Fi, and licensed small cells for coverage and capacity in enterprise wireless systems, according to ABI Research (www.abirsearch.com).

Each type of system has its strengths and weaknesses with Active DAS systems the choice for large corporations which we define as over 100,000 square feet and with more than 100 employees. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have the choice between Wi-Fi and small cells. There are two business models for DAS in large corporations: neutral-host or carrier-led.

"Neutral hosts are increasingly popular for multitenant situations since multicarrier DAS systems can add value with either carrier-led, venue-led or third party business models," says Nick Marshall, principal analyst, ABI Research.

Today, adding Wi-Fi is an attractive option for businesses since these systems are probably...

The growth of 802.11ac and 802.11ad will occur in very different ways. 802.11ac will explode into devices, including smartphones, from the start while 802.11ad will see a more modest and staggered growth, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

802.11ac is being pushed into smartphones by key carriers’ device requirements that are in sync with 802.11ac hotspot plans for more robust Wi-Fi offloading.

"The push towards 11ac adoption overpowers the minor additional cost of dual-band 802.11n/802.11ac chipsets that will be used in smartphones," says research director Philip Solis. "Perhaps surprising even to industry insiders, we will likely see 2X2 802.11ac implementations in smartphones in a few years."

The proportion of various 802.11ac-enabled products will remain relatively consistent from 2013 to 2018, with smartphones making up 40% of those in 2013 and 46% in 2018, where over 3.5...

Worldwide carrier Wi-Fi deployments reached a total 4.9 million hotspots in 2012, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

"Despite the successful adoption of 3G and 4G mobile data services, the number of Wi-Fi Hotspots has continued to proliferate and are anticipated to surpass 6.3 million by the end of 2013," comments industry analyst, Khin Sandi Lynn. The number includes Wi-Fi hotspots deployed by fixed-line and mobile carriers as well as third-party operators (e.g., Boingo, iPass, etc).

Wi-Fi has very much become a complement to 3G and 4G services and is now a mainstay of connectivity for the majority of smartphone, tablet, and laptop users because it is often free in many public Wi-Fi locations. This is particularly the case when a mobile user is roaming - Wi-Fi networks can help the user save a significant amount on mobile data roaming charges.

According to new data from the IDC research group (www.idc.com) global shipments of smart connected devices (PCs, tablets, and smartphones) are expected to surpass 1.7 billion units by 2014 with roughly one billion units delivered to emerging markets.

Within the emerging markets, the BRIC countries -- China, India, Brazil, and Russia -- are expected to generate shipments of 662 million units with a shipment value of more than US$206 billion. More than 650 million units are forecast to be shipped to developed markets, with the United States, UK, and Japan capturing more than 400 million units with a shipment value of $204 billion.

With the BRIC countries expected to surpass the total shipments to developed markets by 2014, it is clear that demand for smart connected devices is quickly shifting from developed to emerging markets. The emerging markets are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17...

Over 6.6 billion mobile phones will be in use by the end of 2017, according to CCS Insight's latest market forecast (www.ccsinsight.com). Two-thirds of them will be smartphones, up from less than 25% in 2012, according to the research group.

In the first three months of 2013, smartphone shipments exceeded those of non-smartphones for the first time ever. Sales of smartphones have been helped by new, cheaper devices, especially, but not only, in emerging markets. The mobile and media analyst firm expects 1.86 billion mobile phones to be shipped in 2013, of which 53% will be smartphones.

The blisteringly fast growth of smartphones in Western Europe and North America will see penetration levels approaching saturation point in these markets within three years, according to CCS Insight. More than 50% of the mobile phones in use in these regions are already smartphones. CCS Insight predicts this figure will...

Just over 950 million mobile phone users worldwide are expected to use their handsets for mobile ticketing by 2018, up from 458 million this year, according to a new report from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com).

Growth is expected to be driven primarily within key transport verticals, although latterly significant uptake is anticipated across sectors such as live entertainment events and cinema ticketing. Juniper Research notes that the airline industry was a particularly strong proponent of mobile ticketing, with adoption of mobile boarding passes rising sharply since the worldwide implementation of BCBPs (Barcoded Boarding Passes) in 2010.

What's more, the research group observed that while mobile has for some years been a key ticketing delivery channel across Scandinavian metros, deployments were increasing both elsewhere in Europe and in the US and were achieving strong levels...

For the quarter, the total (internal plus external) disk storage systems market generated $7.7 billion in revenue, representing a decline of -3.2% from the prior year's first quarter. Total disk storage systems capacity shipped reached 7.8 exabytes, growing 26.4% year over year.

"Emerging markets drove growth within the global market but this was not enough to offset declines elsewhere," says Eric Sheppard, research director, Storage, IDC. "Independent storage suppliers were better positioned to capitalize on this new level of demand than their competitors, some of whom are currently working through product transitions and...

The combined consumer and enterprise worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments experienced year-over-year growth of 12.5% in the first quarter of 2013 (1Q13), per IDC (www.idc.com).
The enterprise segment continued to grow at a healthy rate of 19.3% over the same period last year, says the research group. The first quarter of 2013 was the thirteenth consecutive quarter with annual growth greater than 15%. The consumer WLAN market also started the year 2013 on a relative high note, growing 6.2% year over year.

"The explosion of mobile devices and the uptake of enterprise mobility applications continue to be top of mind for enterprise IT in terms of driving WLAN infrastructure growth across a wide range of enterprise verticals and use cases," says Rohit Mehra, vice president, Network Infrastructure, at IDC. "While this quarter saw some slowing of growth in Wi-Fi infrastructure rollouts for mobile...

For hoteliers to stay competitive, they need to look beyond room cost and consider improving their guest wireless experience, according to a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Motorola Solutions (www.motorolasolutions.com) in April 2013.

This survey, which includes responses from 500 participants including North America IT decision-makers with responsibility for WLAN/Wi-Fi at hotels with 25 rooms or more, found there is a gap between expectations and performance of hotel WLAN performance. These IT decision-makers are identifying the complexity of offering guest wireless access, and the need to utilize it as a differentiator for guests in the hotel marketplace.

Thirty-one percent of IT decision-makers in hotels find WLAN infrastructure and operations to be lower than business expectations. More than half of hotel business decision-makers understand there are...

The shift of video consumption to tablets and smartphones is causing operator requirements for video on demand (VOD) systems to change as vendors struggle to keep up with current generation needs, according to ABI Research.

Equipment and system vendors, such as Arris (including Motorola Home), SeaChange, Cisco, and Ericsson are expected to lose ground to cloud-oriented companies such as thePlatform, Synacor, and KIT Digital (expected to emerge from bankruptcy as Piksel), according to the research group (www.abiresearch.com). VOD vendors will see less than 30% growth over the next five years, while content management system (CMS) vendors will capture the market and see nearly 100% growth to seize half of the total VOD management markets.

Classic VOD back-office systems are built around delivery to the TV via a set-top box, leveraging a single video format, a managed network, a modest number of...

Wireless access is the top customer demand of hotel guests in their rooms and throughout the hotel properties, according to a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Motorola Solutions (www.motorolasolutions.com) in April 2013.

This survey includes responses from 500 North American hotel guests, including business and recreational travelers. Among the findings:

° 90% wished hotels offered WiFi as an amenity, making it the top priority of both business and recreational travelers.

° More than 90% of hotel guests surveyed indicated they wanted WiFi in their hotel rooms, not just in common areas.

° 40% of business travelers said they would not stay at a hotel without Internet.

Global mobile data traffic expanded at 69% in 2012 and is anticipated to grow at 72% in 2013 to reach 23,000 Peta Bytes (PB), according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). By 2018 total mobile data traffic will likely eclipse 131,000PB, adds the research group.

"There has been much 'doom-mongering' about this growth in mobile data traffic but mobile carriers should not panic just yet. There are indications that mobile carriers have a number of options to handle the traffic loads," says Jake Saunders, vice president and practice director for core forecasting at ABI Research.

According to the research group:

° Carriers are commercializing LTE but there are additional benefits to be gained from quickly adopting the LTE-Advanced roadmap. LTE-A’s release 10 introduces enhanced Multi-In Multi-Out antenna technology as well as interference mitigation technologies such as CoMP and eICIC. A crucial...

Clips 3D dispenses 36 different exciting animated 3D HD clips. Videos can be dragged out of Clips 3D right onto an iMovie or Final Cut Pro X shot collection "event." The video clip immediately appears in the project.

Clips 3D's iPad like interface sits atop your editing program. Its royalty free content makes this helper application a great production tool for video makers. The Clips 3D library is sorted into four categories: Illusion, Physical, SiFi and Simulated.

Clips 3D for iMovie and FCPX supplies royalty free animations that are otherwise, difficult to create. These animations are useful as title backgrounds, transitions, credit rolls -- or simply as eye candy.

The Clips 3D application contains a pictorial help file, and a help video for easy learning. Shots are up to 30 seconds in duration, and are 720P HD, at 30 FPS, MP4-H.264 .MOV files. Clips 3D videos are...

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) research group (www.idc.com), factory revenue in the worldwide server market decreased 7.7% year over year to US$10.9 billion in the first quarter of 2013 (1Q13).

This is the fifth time in the previous six quarters that the server market has experienced a year-over-year decline in worldwide revenue. Server unit shipments decreased 3.9% year over year in 1Q13 to 1.9 million units as consolidation continued to be a strategic focus for many large and small customers around the globe.

On a year-over-year basis, volume systems experienced a 3.1% revenue decline. This was only the third time in the previous fourteen quarters that volume system demand declined year over year. At the same time, demand for midrange and high-end systems experienced year-over-year revenue declines of 18.3% and 17.1% respectively in 1Q13. The midrange and high-end markets were impacted by...

New data from the IDC research group (www.idc.com) showed first quarter 2013 (1Q13) videoconferencing equipment revenue declined 13.2% year over year and 21.9% quarter over quarter. Total worldwide enterprise videoconferencing and telepresence equipment revenue was US$563.4 million in 1Q13, its worst result since the second quarter of 2010, according to IDC.

From a market segment perspective, endpoints, which include multi-codec immersive telepresence, single-codec telepresence, and personal videoconferencing, declined 10.7% year over year and video network infrastructure decreased 20.5% year over year in 1Q13.

Regionally, Latin America declined just 3.5% year over year, followed by the 9.1% year-over-year decline in Asia/Pacific and the 10.1% decrease in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). North America was a particular area of weakness this quarter with its 20.3% year-over-year drop.

Software Updates via MacUpdate

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Iridient Developer 3.0.1 - Powerful imag...

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Little Snitch 3.5.2 - Alerts you about o...

Little Snitch gives you control over your private outgoing data.
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It seems like this month has been pretty big for wrestling. First Wrestlemania, then 2K has announces that they're releasing WWE 2K for iOS. It's a simulation-based WWE game where you'll get to play with several WWE superstars such as John Cena, ... | Read more »

How the Apple Watch Could Change the Fac...

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Pie In The Sky: A Pizza Odyssey (Games)

Pie In The Sky: A Pizza Odyssey 1.0
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Chosen Gives Hopeful Singers, Songwriter...

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Android's Popular OfficeSuite Now A...

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Warhammer: Arcane Magic is Coming Soon,...

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Fast & Furious: Legacy's Creati...

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These are All the Apple Watch Apps and G...

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Appy to Have Known You - Lee Hamlet Look...

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Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Adobe Brings Powerful Layout-Design Capabilit...

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Apple offering refurbished 27-inch 5K iMacs f...

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16GB iPad mini on sale for $199, save $50

Walmart has 16GB iPad minis (1st generation) available for $199.99 on their online store, including free shipping. Their price is $50 off MSRP. Online orders only.
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The Apple Store has Apple Certified Refurbished 13″ 2.6GHz/128GB Retina MacBook Pros available for $979 including free shipping. Original MSRP for this model was $1299.
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The Apple Store is offering Apple Certified Refurbished Mac Pros for up to $600 off the cost of new models. An Apple one-year warranty is included with each Mac Pro, and shipping is free. The... Read more

Samsung Galaxy S 6 and Galaxy S 6 edge U.S. P...

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. has announced the Galaxy S 6 and Galaxy S 6 edge will be available in the U.S. beginning April 10, with pre-orders being accepted now.
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13-inch 2.5GHz MacBook Pro (refurbished) avai...

The Apple Store has Apple Certified Refurbished 13″ 2.5GHz MacBook Pros available for $829, or $270 off the cost of new models. Apple’s one-year warranty is standard, and shipping is free:
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